Golden State Shootout: Day 1 at Clear Lake

Today was a good day.

They call this the Golden State Shootout, and it’s going to be a shootout.

Clear Lake is a great fishing lake, and I had a pretty good day to start this tournament. I was pleased with 24-7 because that’s not a bad bag. But I’ve got to go out and do it again tomorrow.

The leaderboard is going to go up and down. Some of the guys that are in the high twenties are going to fall down to about 20. Other guys are going to move up. I just hope I’m the one moving up.

It’s an interesting leaderboard.

You’ve got a couple of California guys – Greg Gutierrez and Ishama Monroe – at the top. I hear they went over 30. As you might figure, Kevin VanDam is up there near the top. He’s probably going to take an overwhelming lead in angler-of-the-year points. It just amazes me the way Kevin is in it every time. I mean every time. And Skeet Reese is another California guy. He’s up there, too. That’s not a surprise, either.

I have to admit the last two tournaments were not what I wanted. At Lake Amistad I just didn’t put in the effort that I needed. Coming off the Classic, there were lots of demands on my time. I should have spent more time on the water, but I didn’t get to do that. As a result, I had a bad tournament.

Then we went to the Delta. And I fished hard at the Delta. But to be perfectly honest, the Delta just whipped my ass. We had about two-and-a-half days to work on that water, and that just wasn’t enough for me.

So coming here, I’d had two bad tournaments in a row. I can’t honestly say I was nervous or in a slump or anything like that. But I needed a good day.

I love Clear Lake. It’s a reservoir, and there are certain principals that apply when you’re fishing on a reservoir. I kind of have a feel for where fish are going to go. And man, there are some giants out there.

I caught two 7-pounders today.

I had time to work with them and I was able to bring them in. And I actually found another one that was not locked on a bed, he was swimming. When they’re swimming, you have to work them and it takes time.

But I like Clear Lake, because it’s about sight fishing is one of my specialties. If you’re not familiar with the term “sight fishing,” it’s hard to explain. Basically, I mean when a female goes on the bed, they won’t bite. You have to annoy them. Sometimes you cast around them, sometimes you go right at them. But pretty soon, out of anger they’ll bite.
It’s kind of like stalk hunting. You respond to the fish. You do whatever seems to irritate them. Sometimes you even hit them in the face.

Anyway, there was very little wind today and that makes for good sight fishing. I hope we have the same thing on Friday. My plan is to catch the limit, and I hope to get a big bite early.